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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Is there a statute of limitations on the length of time that passes before a blog post is viewed as way too old/stale/outdated to post? I finally had a chance to get through some of the photos that I took of of our 4th of July cabin camping trip and I'm embarrassed that it's taken me so long to get them up. I'm even more embarrassed that I'm still working through all the photos from our beach vacation back in May, which I'd also still like to post here, so long as it's not just sad and pathetic by now. Yes? Well whatever...it's my blog and I can be sad and pathetic if I want to.

Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, we packed up the kids and the dog and nearly everything we own and headed down to the Current River to do some cabin camping. We found a really cute little place right on the water with a huge yard that was perfect for fishing, swimming, tadpole catching, grilling, s'mores making and firefly catching. Sounds pretty perfect, right? However, if you follow me on Instagram, you may remember hearing that while fun, the weekend was anything but easy. It's one thing to post beautiful photos of your outdoor adventures with kids online and quite another to actually live through it.

I'm going to keep it real here and tell you that it was by no means a relaxing weekend. We started off with a three-hour drive where Mim screamed bloody murder the entire ride and neither kid napped. Upon arriving we realized we left a large part of our groceries (including the vodka) at home in the garage. We emptied the car while the kids played on (and fell off) the deck. Mac fed Mim a ladybug. I found a giant nest of spiders in the baby's room. We made our way down to the river to cool off and do a little fishing. Ryan got a hook in his hand. Mac was throwing some rocks in the water and Sage tried to catch one like a tennis ball and shattered three of her teeth - blood everywhere. The kids were hysterical. We were freaked out (and very sober, unfortunately). And we'd only been there an hour.

The weekend did get better, but vacationing with kids is sooooo not a real vacation. It's just parenting in a more scenic, yet less convenient location. Mac went 4 days without a nap and lived off sugar the whole weekend, so he was a real delight at times. Mim napped great, but wanted to have dance parties at 3 a.m. The locals also thought that the road right next to our house would be the perfect spot to shoot off whistling bottle-rockets for five straight hours every night. Sage's poor mouth was a mess and she could barely eat, but wouldn't slow down for anything. At one point she got wrapped up in the fishing line and Ryan went in the river after her, phone and all. His waterproof case apparently had a hole in it and he lost everything on his phone - all the photos and videos of the kids he'd taken since Mim was born. So...good times.

I don't mean to be all negative. We did have fun. We did get vodka. And we did catch fish, eat s'mores, feed the trout, swim in the river and get lots of fresh air and sunshine. It was nice...at times. :) Anyway, here are the photos!

No, but really, even after all the crazy stuff that happened, we had a blast. Adventures with kids are just that...adventures! And the great thing is, I guarantee you years from now when I look at these photos and think back about this weekend, I'm not going to remember the lack of naps or the tantrums or the spiders (I will probably remember Sage's teeth because that was seriously traumatizing). I'm going to remember the look on Mac's face when he caught his first brown trout. I'll remember how excited he got about s'mores and how obsessed he was with the tadpoles in the creek. I'll remember Mim's tiny little wet footprints across the deck, her squeals when she splashed in the cold water and the way she buried her face into my neck when she fell asleep at night. Even just a few months later I'm already thinking about how much fun we had and wondering when we can go back. That's the great thing about having kids - the highlights are so high you barely remember the lows.

P.S. Sage is fine, she's had a root canal and now has a very pretty (and ridiculously expensive) silver canine. She's a total badass.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

When I wake up in the morning and the alarm gives out a warning and I don't think I ever make it on time...

Oh yeah, you know that song. Or did I totally just date myself there? I'm old, I know. Anyway, summer is ending, the days are getting shorter and it's that time of year again...back-to-school! As if you could possibly ignore all the adorable "first day of ____ grade" photos on your Facebook feed and the smell of freshly sharpened #2 pencils in the air. This year I get to officially join in on all the fun because Mac will be attending 3-day a week (half-day) preschool! Yes, I will cry. Again.

As you also may know, I'm really excited to be a part of an amazing group of mama-bloggers that get to review fun products and serve as "Product Scouts" for the website/blog Savvy Sassy Moms. This program is new, but growing quickly because it's been such a big hit. All the Scouts with school-aged kids received this amazing Back-To-School Scout Box with all kinds of awesome products to try out and review on our blogs! We're also hosting some really fun giveaways where you could win some of these products, the entire B2S Scout Box or the ultimate #2Cool4School prize package! If you're interested, head over to the Savvy Sassy Moms website for all the details and to sign up! And stay tuned here for reviews on all the products included in this awesome box coming over the next couple weeks!

When we opened our Back-To-School Scout Box, the very first thing the kids went for were the snacks, of course. I'm googly-eyed over the Sharpies, labels and notepads; meanwhile, the kids are ripping into the box of pouches and stuffing their little faces with the Jammy Sammy bars. I had to confiscate them immediately just so I'd have something to photograph. And actually, if I'm being honest here, it took me a couple days to get my act together and get pictures taken and by that point I had to order more Jammy Sammy sandwich things on Amazon because little Miss Mimmy here ate the whole box. Apparently I forgot to put them out of sight and she screamed bloody murder our nanny, daddy and grandma all gave her one. Obviously, Mim's a BIG fan. Once I received our replacement order (a whole case!), I let her have one of each for an after-nap snack and she went to town!

Even though Mim's not the one going back-to-school, she was thrilled to be a part of the Plum Organics review. She ate that Mash-Up so fast and squealed in delight when she saw the Jammy Sammy bars. These may just be her favorite thing ever. They're the perfect snack size for throwing in a lunch box, diaper bag, glove box or even your purse (for yourself). I will admit that I had one on my way home from the office the other day and it was delicious and much more filling than I expected it to be.

At one point she was sitting in a pile of crumbs and playing with her spilled Mash-Up and I had the nerve(!!) to try to move her, which resulted in that scream-cry above. I think she thought I was going to take her Sammy Jammy away. :) She has trust issues (I blame Mac).

So yeah, we're BIG fans. Six thumbs up from all of us on both the Mash-Ups and Jammy Sammy bars. Plum Organics for the win!

Have you tried either of these?

What's your favorite on the go snack for kids?

*I received this product as part of the Savvy Sassy Moms Product Scouts program. All opinions are my own.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Earlier this year we participated in a fun little blog swap gift box exchange with some other awesome mommy bloggers with babies/toddlers. We had so much fun getting awesome box filled with Springtime goodies that we were thrilled to participate in this Fall swap. We were matched up with swap hostess and mommy-blogger extraordinaire Jessica of Secrets of a Stay At Home Mom. We sent her two adorable kiddos, Cameron and Emerson (who are both right around the same ages as my kids) a really fun back-to-school box filled with some fun school supplies so they could "play" school. Head over to Jessica's blog to see what we sent them.

Meanwhile, we received the coolest books from Bekah, who blogs over at I Prefer My Puns Intended, and has the most adorable little boy named Bennett and is expecting. Bekah picked out perfect books for us! Mac received a book shaped like a fire truck with real wheels, filled with real photos of fire trucks. He's obsessed with this book and has even insisted on sleeping with it for the past week. That's how you know he really loves it. Mim received the cutest little finger-puppet ladybug book that she thinks is hilarious. She has to kiss the ladybug on every single page and then laughs hysterically. I don't know why it's funny to her, but it's REALLY funny to watch.

Bekah also sent me this awesome devotional for women runners. It's filled with stories, poems, prayers and thoughts about running, motherhood, body image, faith, etc. I've really enjoyed reading the stories as I slowly ease my way back into running.

Thank you so much Bekah! We all love the books!

And here's a list of the other bloggers participating in the swap, if you want to check out what they received: